Valerie Webster's Blog

Rachel Byrne is the author of Predestined, an award-winning YA novel named by Colorado Public Radio as a 2024 Book We Love.

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I’ve been hard at work on a new Rita Mars Thriller. It’s called The Book of Revelation.

When people hear that title, they immediately think of the apocalypse or the end of the world. Or destruction or death. But “apocalyptic” really doesn’t mean end of the world, or the end of our lives or the end of anything. The term refers to a “reveal.” That’s what happens in this book.

Rita Mars is hired by her attorney to help with a case of a child being held by her grandparents against her mother’s wishes. Rita’s mission is a tricky one. What is so heinous that the grandparents kidnapped a little girl from her own mother?

 Rita walks a fine line in her investigations. She rejects the tenets and actions of the mother’s family, but she must observe an objectivity that is elusive at times. She must maintain an impartial analysis of facts when she could so easily fall into the bias trap and find ways to present information stacked against the grandparents. She needs a cool head and a measured approach.

 Not an easy job in this case – the leader of this effort is a minister from a small elemental church. This congregation is no stranger to violence. Church followers hound her, threaten her. Their means are never subtle and often involve the risk of real physical harm.  Rita is wary and she relies on her hacker, Roswell, to help keep her safe. Forewarned is forearmed.

In a time when facts turn flexible and rancor is a constant undercurrent, Rita Mars navigates a course in a divided world. On one side are those depending on her to bring them out of the chaos and on the other are those led by authority figures whose sole interest is imposing his will.

 This is a story we’ve all heard. Good is portrayed as evil. We see it everyday in the news. How do we change it? We pull together with help from our friends. Rita is no exception. She is going to challenge, every time, the fallacies and the lies and the superstitions. She is everywoman seeking the truth.

Get ready for a powerful reader experience when you follow Rita Mars in The Book of Revelation. Coming to Amazon soon. See the other books in the Rita Mars Thriller series here.

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A Golden Opportunity for Independent Writers

In today’s competitive book market, authors are increasingly turning to digital platforms to connect with their audience. While social media, book blogs, and newsletters remain essential tools for independent authors, there’s a rising trend that’s quickly becoming a game-changer: interviews on established YouTube channels.

YouTube, with its massive reach and diverse audience, provides an unparalleled platform for authors to engage with potential readers in an authentic and personal way and the Write Club channel offers you that opportunity – for free. Independent authors, who may not have the same promotional budgets or resources as traditional publishers, can leverage a combined power to build their brand, create connections, and ultimately boost book sales.

Why Write Club?

Write Club offers new and established authors the chance for new readers to find you.  You have the chance to talk about yourself, your writing practice and, most of all, to promote your work and promote new followers.  Where else but on YouTube can you appear on one of the most influential platforms when it comes to online content?  A recent Google report revealed that nearly 70% of people purchase a product or service after watching a video about it on YouTube. There are over 2.6 billion YouTube users worldwide, with millions of viewers watching book-related content, ranging from reviews and recommendations to author interviews and reading vlogs.

When it comes to promoting books, a video interview can be a transformative tool. Research shows that videos have a significant impact on people’s decision-making process:

80% of people remember a video ad they watched in the past 30 days.  93% of marketers claim that video has helped increase user understanding of their product or service.For authors especially, video interviews can effectively convey the essence of  their work, helping readers connect with both the author and their book.Video content offers more than just visibility—it enhances engagement. Viewers are able to connect with an author’s voice, personality, and enthusiasm in ways that static text can’t achieve. And when it comes to book buying decisions, a personal connection can make all the difference.

How Interviews on Established YouTube Channels Can Help Independent Authors

Here are a few reasons why an interview on Write Club, as an established YouTube channel could be a game-changer for independent authors:

Builds Credibility: Appearing on Write Club can immediately lend credibility to an author. It’s a form of social proof that signals to potential readers that you’re serious about your work and that others are interested in what you have to say.Expands Reach: Write Club is expanding its already dedicated audience that trusts the content we produce. By featuring on one of these channels, you tap into this pre-existing community and expand your reach exponentially. Rather than starting from scratch, you’re speaking directly to an audience that is already engaged and potentially interested in your genre.Creates Personal Connection: Write Club’s video content allows for more emotional and personal engagement than a blog post or written interview. Viewers can see your facial expressions, hear your passion, and sense your excitement about your work, which can create a deeper connection than written content alone.Boosts SEO: YouTube is owned by Google, so Write Club videos often show up in search engine results, increasing the chances of being discovered by potential readers. A well-optimized interview can rank high for keywords related to your book or genre, bringing organic traffic to your channel, website, or book sales page.Free Marketing: For independent authors, any form of free promotion is priceless. Write Club offers interview slots to authors at no charge. This kind of exposure is invaluable and can help you reach a wider audience without dipping into your marketing budget.Long-Lasting Exposure: Unlike social media posts that get buried after a few hours or days, YouTube videos have a long shelf life. People will continue to find and watch your interview months, or even years, after it’s been posted. This kind of ongoing visibility can keep your book in front of new readers over time.

What Do Stats Say About Author Videos?

Data indicates that videos are a powerful tool for boosting an author’s visibility:

80% of book buyers say that they are more likely to buy a book after watching a video about it. So, an engaging author interview can directly influence potential readers’ buying decisions.A recent study by Wistia showed that the average user spends 2.6x more time on pages with video than those without. This increased time spent on your Write Club interview video could translate to more time spent exploring your book details or even reading sample chapters.65% of authors who have utilized YouTube interviews and book trailers report an increase in book sales and visibility. The impact of consistent video content on sales can be impressive, especially for authors who take a proactive approach to sharing their story.

How to Get Started with Free Author Interviews on YouTube with Write Club

Write Club is looking for indie fiction authors. Your must have a book with a confirmed near-term publication date or a book that is published in the current year.We ask for an excerpt of your work to be reviewed by our marketing team. Please send a first 50-page excerpt of your book to valeriewebster@valeriewebster.com.  Include a brief bio and a synopsis of the book you wish to promote.Our turnaround on acceptance is 30 days.  We will notify you via email for a pre-filming session and afterwards schedule you for an interview slot.The finished video will be available to you free-of-charge after any necessary editing.

For independent authors, landing an interview on the Write Club channel can be a high-impact, low-cost way to increase visibility, foster meaningful connections with readers, and ultimately sell more books. Video content is one of the most powerful tools in the marketing toolkit, and YouTube is the ideal platform to make it work for you.  By tapping into the power of video interviews, independent authors can reach global audiences, build credibility, and showcase their unique voices. And best of all, Write Club offers this opportunity for free. So, why not take advantage of it? Your next big audience is just a video away. Check out episodes of Write Club here.

Happy writing—Get your own interview now.

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Rob Bonney is a novelist, poet, and climate activist. His first novel, Hide, is the story of a boy with an audacious plan to save himself. Suspenseful, philosophical and comic, Hide always returns to Seb’s questions: How have we become so lost, so detached from nature, so stupid about a planet we depend upon completely? How will he, or any of us, find our way back?

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Valerie Webster talks with Diane Gansauer, the author of The Waypoints: From 400 Farewells and 3000 Miles. At the age of sixty-one, Diane Gansauer committed to something great: hiking the entire length of the Continental Divide Trail, from Mexico to Canada. Over a seven-year journey through mountains, rivers, and forests, Diane continued her work officiating celebrations of life. By the time she completed all thirty-one hundred miles of the trail, Diane had honored more than four hundred life stories through memorial services and gatherings. The Waypoints chronicles the wisdom that overlapped her experience of these lives and the trail, like stacked stones on the path, guiding the way.

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Valerie Webster interviews Dr. Terry Chase. Terry Chase is a nationally recognized speaker, teacher and author spanning careers in healthcare, higher education, and private practice. As a leader in nursing and healthcare, she has contributed value to educational programs as Patient and Family Education Coordinator at Craig Hospital, Denver Colorado and most recently, as Associate Professor-Mental Health in the BSN program at Colorado Mesa University. Terry uses her experience of living with a spinal cord injury to guide others along a pathway of health and healing. She has a unique skill of helping people make sense of challenging situations, whether individually or in teams. She provides clarity by making difficult things understandable and less complex. Terry considers her ‘superpower’ to be that as an experiential educator. She uses creative, hands-on approaches that make the invisible-visible engaging participants for maximum learning impact and transformation in their lives. As the author of countless professional papers and her award winning book “Spoke by Spoke: How a Broken Back and a Broken Bike Led to a WholeHearted Life” (2021), Terry inspires others with her stories of grit, resilience, and compassionate living.

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Valerie Webster interviews cli-fi author William A. Liggett. Bill Liggett writes fiction that blends behavioral and earth sciences in the new literary genre “cli-fi,” or climate fiction. His goal is to paint a hopeful future, based on solutions to global warming.

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Author Valerie Webster interviews Tim Howell, home and business security expert, on how to keep your home secure from break-ins.

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Stephen Saletan is the author of the memoir, “To The Midnight Sun” an inspiring story of family, history, and the search for connections across place and time that help make us who we are.

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Author Valerie Webster interviews romantic suspense author Helen Starbuck.

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